Overview of Vaccines / Immunizations

Hoag would like to partner in your healthcare by offering you and your baby these standard and recommended immunizations to protect you from vaccine-preventable diseases. Therefore Hoag’s Maternal Child Health Departments will be providing the Hepatitis B vaccine for your newborn at birth and also offering new mothers the Tdap and Influenza (during flu season) vaccines.

Types

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that all pregnant women receive a flu vaccine.¹ The flu is more likely to cause severe illness that results in hospitalization in pregnant women and may be harmful for the developing baby. The flu vaccine is safe to be given during any trimester to help protect both the pregnant mother and the baby from the flu.

Tdap Vaccine During Pregnancy

The CDC recommends that pregnant women receive the Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) vaccine during every pregnancy, preferably between weeks 27 and 36.² This vaccine is very safe for pregnant women and their babies and protects against:

• Tetanus – causes painful stiffening of the muscles
• Diphtheria – can lead to difficulty breathing, heart failure, paralysis, or death
• Pertussis (also known as “whooping cough”) – causes uncontrollable violent coughing that makes it hard to breathe, eat or drink. Infants are most at risk for severe, life-threatening complications from whooping cough.³

After receiving the Tdap vaccine, antibodies are created and passed to the baby before birth, which provides babies with short-term protection until they can get vaccinated at two months old.

Where Can I Get a Flu and Tdap Vaccine?

You can get these vaccines at your primary care provider’s office, your obstetrician’s office, and/or at a local pharmacy. Ask your care team about getting these vaccines at your next appointment.

Hepatitis B Vaccine: Protects against a serious disease caused by a virus that attacks the liver. The virus, which is called hepatitis B virus (HBV), can cause lifelong infection, cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, liver cancer, liver failure and death.

It’s important to discuss vaccinations with your physician, prior to your delivery, so you are prepared to make a decision upon arrival at Hoag.

Patient Resources

To further assist you, we have provided additional information via a helpful booklet on immunizations from the CDC. Click here to download.

1 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Flu Vaccine Safety and Pregnancy. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/qa_vacpregnant.htm.

2 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Tdap Vaccination for Pregnant People. https://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/vaccines/tdap-vaccination-for-pregnant-people.html?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/pregnant/mom/vacc-effectiveness.html.

3 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis) Vaccine Information Statement. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/tdap.html#:~:text=Tdap%20is%20only%20for%20children,protect%20the%20newborn%20from%20pertussis.